A Beautiful Mess
by LovelyinLavender
Summary: For the Age of Edward Contest. After being teased mercilessly by Edward as a child, Bella switches schools, thinking she'll never see him again. But what happens 15 years later when she transfers back to Seattle from NYU and their paths cross yet again?


**Age of Edward Contest**

**Title: A Beautiful Mess**

**Your pen name: LovelyinLavender**

**Type of Edward: 80's Edward**

**If you would like to see all the stories that are a part of this contest visit: The Age of Edward C2 Community:  
****http://www(DOT)fanfiction(DOT)net/community/The_Age_of_Edward_Contest/70125/**

****Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters. They all belong to the amazingly talented Stephenie Meyer.****

* * *

_**Seattle, 1969**_

"Bella, sweetheart, you look so pretty," my mom said, running the hairbrush through my hair one last time.

"No. I look silly, mommy." Even as a 6 year old, I knew that the pink dress she made me wear definitely did not suit me.

"You do not look silly. You look exactly like a young lady _should_ look on her first day at a new school."

It was January. We had just moved to Seattle from Phoenix so my dad could take the job as the new police chief. And because this new job came with a lot of great benefits, he certainly couldn't turn down the offer. Of course, leaving Phoenix meant leaving all of my friends behind. It was incredibly hard to pack up, say goodbye, and start somewhere new. But seeing as how I wasn't the boss of the family, I knew that throwing a tantrum about not wanting to move would get me nowhere.

At that moment, my dad walked into the room with a big smile on his face…and a camera in his hands. "There's my little girl! Do you mind if I take a few quick pictures before she leaves, Renee?"

I rolled my eyes. Sure my dad was great, but did he really have to insist upon taking the cliché first day at a new school picture? "Daddy…"

"Please, Bella," my mom interrupted. "It won't take long at all. We just want something to remember this special day by." She turned to my dad, a proud look in her eyes. "Just look at her, Charlie. Isn't she beautiful?"

"The most beautiful girl in the world," he replied, looking equally proud.

Beautiful? Who were they talking about? Certainly not me with my black, horn-rimmed glasses and plain, brown eyes. And despite having lived in sunny Phoenix, I still had extremely pale skin. Perhaps—unbeknownst to me—I had a sister that my parents were referring to. Someone named…Stella.

I looked around my room just to be sure, earning a laugh from my mom and dad. "C'mon, funny girl," said my mom, holding out her hand. "You don't want to be late. School starts in twenty minutes."

I sighed and took her hand, letting her lead me to the kitchen. After bundling me up in my winter coat, she handed me my backpack and my lunch. "Ok, Bella. Are you ready?"

"I guess."

"Good. Let's…"

"Wait," my dad cried, running into the room. "We've still got to take our picture!"

Shoot. I was hoping he had forgotten.

My mom smacked her palm against her forehead. "That's right! I'm sorry. Should we do our usual front porch shot," she asked my dad.

Uh, did they know how cold it was out there?

My eyes widened. "But it's freezing outside."

"It'll only take a minute, Bella," my dad replied. "Not to worry."

But five minutes later, I was still standing on the porch, listening to my parents bicker about how I should be posing.

"Bella, turn ever so slightly to the right…"

"No, no. She should just stand straight with her arms at her sides."

"Well, she could do that if she just uncrossed her arms. Uncross your arms, honey!"

God, could my mom and dad be any more embarrassing? I mean, it's not like they were professional photographers. They might as well just quit while they're ahead.

"Bella, for God's sake, please smile," my mom shouted.

Why? This was completely pointless. It's not like this was my first day of Kindergarten, like it was back in September.

"Bella…"

"Ok, fine," I huffed. I plastered the biggest, cheesiest smile on my face that I could muster. Apparently, my attempt at acting seemed to work, because my mom and dad let out a collective "Awww" and took the picture.

I hopped off the porch and darted to my mom's side. Since the school was only a few blocks from our house, she wanted to walk me there—just to make sure I got settled ok.

"Alright, do you have everything you need," she asked.

"Yeah, I'm all set."

"Well then, we're off! See you in a bit, darling," my mom said, turning to my dad and giving him a quick kiss.

I cringed and began gagging at their display of affection, which made them laugh loudly. "Bells, you are quite a character," said my dad, squatting down to my height and kissing my cheek. "Have a wonderful day."

"Sure, sure," I mumbled. But as my mom and I walked down the front walkway towards my school, I couldn't help but worry that my day would turn out to be anything but wonderful.

****

A little while later, we entered the main office of my new school and were immediately greeted by the receptionist, a friendly looking woman with red hair. "Hello there. Can I help you?"

"Yes. My name is Renee Swan, and this is my daughter, Bella. She's going to be starting Kindergarten here, today," my mom answered.

"Oh, of course! How are you," she asked, coming out from behind her desk and shaking my mom's hand. "I'm Ms. Cope. It's a pleasure to meet you." She then turned her attention to me. "So, Bella, your teacher is going to be Mrs. Weber. Would you like me to show you where her room is?"

I gulped, suddenly very nervous. "Um, ok."

"Great. Follow me, then. Class is about to start."

"Wait just a minute," my mom interrupted, enveloping me in a tight hug. "I love you, sweetheart," she whispered. "Good luck today."

"Thanks." I exhaled shakily. "But mommy, what if they don't like me?"

My mom smiled reassuringly at me. "Bella, of course they'll like you. Who wouldn't like you?"

I smiled back and nodded, walking towards Ms. Cope. After taking her outstretched hand, I turned to wave at my mom one last time then began the trek down the hall to my classroom. As we walked, I took in the scenery around me—bright lighting, lots of pictures, etc.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

In no time, we stopped outside one of the classrooms. Ms. Cope smiled down at me then knocked on the open door. "Mrs. Weber? Bella Swan is here."

"Ah, yes. Come on in, Bella."

I looked up at Ms. Cope, and she squeezed my hand in encouragement. "Go on, dear," she said. "It's alright."

Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside the classroom, feeling the stares of the other students as I went to stand next to Mrs. Weber.

Mrs. Weber seemed like a nice enough person. She had short, dark hair, and wore glasses. As silly as it sounds, it felt nice knowing that at least one other person in the room had glasses. From my observation, it looked like no one else here wore them.

"Class," Mrs. Weber began, "We have a new student joining us today. This is Bella Swan, everyone. She just moved here from a place very far away—a state called Arizona."

A chorus of "Oohs" rang out around the room, causing me to blush. Apparently, the students were impressed with the fact that I just moved here. But I didn't see what was so great about it.

Mrs. Weber continued. "So, I would like you to make her feel welcome, ok? Bella, why don't you take that empty seat next to Edward?" She pointed to a boy in the back with reddish brown hair. I noticed that the desks were pushed together in pairs, and that he was the only one sitting by himself.

As I made my way over to him, his gaze dropped to his lap and he began fidgeting with his hands. But unlike him, my gaze stayed trained right on his face. He was probably the cutest boy I had ever seen. He was dressed very nicely, but his bronze hair was the complete opposite of his tidy outfit. I could tell that it had been combed to the side in an attempt to tame it, but his hair was…wild. It kept falling in front of his face. However, that didn't matter to me at all. I loved it.

When I sat down next to him, I decided to be bold and introduce myself. "Hi, I'm Bella," I said, extending my hand.

What happened next caught me completely off guard.

His eyes—the most beautiful shade of green—snapped up to meet mine. But they weren't friendly at all. In fact, his eyes were narrowed into a menacing glare. Suddenly, he smacked my glasses off of my face, sending them flying into the wall next to us. "Don't talk to me, four eyes," he shouted.

"Edward," Mrs. Weber scolded, "That's not a very nice thing to say. I want you to apologize to Bella right now!" However, the damage was already done.

My face was red with embarrassment as I got up and trudged over to retrieve my glasses, or at least attempt to retrieve them. Without my glasses, I was as blind as a bat, so I ended up on the ground feeling around for them. But thankfully, Mrs. Weber quickly walked over and bent down to pick up my glasses. "Here you go, dear," she said, handing them to me.

I stood up and slid the glasses back on. "Thanks…" I began, but trailed off when I saw a small crack in one of the frames. At this, I couldn't hold my emotions in anymore, and I started to cry.

Just then, a loud noise erupted from behind me, and I turned around to find Edward shaking with laughter.

_What was his problem?_

Mrs. Weber must have wondering the same thing because she marched over to stand in front of him. "Edward, you are completely out of line today! Perhaps some time in detention during lunch will make you rethink your attitude. Oh, and I'm still waiting to hear that apology."

"Why," he asked with a smirk, his eyes mocking. "Why should I apologize to four eyes?"

That was it.

Without any thought to what I was doing, I picked up my notebook from my desk and threw it at Edward. Usually, I couldn't throw anything if my life depended on it. But this time, I was right on target. The corner of my notebook hit him just above his left eyebrow. "Take that, you…you doodoo head," I screamed, calling him the worst thing that my 6 year old brain could come up with.

Needless to say, Edward and I both ended up in detention at lunch—him because he broke my glasses and called me four eyes, and me because I called him a doodoo head and injured him with my notebook. Who knew that the corner of a notebook could actually draw blood?

But despite the fact that Edward wound up in detention for what he did, it didn't stop him from making jabs at me whenever Mrs. Weber's back was turned. And these jabs weren't just about my glasses, either. He made fun of my dress, my hair, even what I brought for lunch. I, personally, didn't think it was weird to be eating a ham and cheese sandwich.

Unfortunately, his teasing didn't end there. He kept at it the whole day, and by the time school was over, I was at my wit's end. It seemed like nothing anyone did was going to make a difference. Edward was never going to stop.

When the last bell rang, I jumped out of my seat, very eager to get out of there. But before I could get far, I felt someone grab my arm—Edward, of course. "See you tomorrow, four eyes," he said, his face covered with wicked amusement.

I could feel my composure crumbling, and as quickly as I could, I yanked my arm out of his grasp and ran out into the hallway. I didn't stop running until I reached home. It was only then that I allowed myself to break down in sobs.

"Bella, is that…" my mom began as she rounded the corner from the kitchen. But she abruptly stopped when she caught sight of me. "Oh my God, Bella, what happened?"

"Oh, mommy," I cried, throwing myself into her arms, "It was awful. This boy at school kept making fun of me and calling me four eyes. And he…and he…" At this point, I got choked up again and buried my face in my mom's shoulder.

"Sweetheart, what? What did he do?"

"He broke my glasses." I took them off and handed them to her. "See, one of the frames is cracked."

She sighed and gave them back to me. "But we can fix them, dear. It won't be a problem. There's no need to worry."

"Yes there is, mommy! He's just going to keep on teasing me. I mean, he didn't stop at all today."

"Bella, you don't know that. He could be completely fine tomorrow."

"What?! You don't believe me," I shouted, storming to my room. Upon entering, I threw myself onto my bed and covered my face with my pillow. "I just can't do it. I can't go back."

"Bella," my mom said, sitting at the foot of my bed, "You have to go back. Just give it a chance. This could all blow over."

"Mommy…"

"No, Bella. You can't just give up." Before I could stop her, my mom snatched away the pillow that was lying over my face. "But if this teasing keeps up, I promise we'll think of something."

Seeing that there was no way out of this, I glared at her but nodded.

Her mouth turned up into a huge smile and she patted my leg. "That's my girl. And just you wait," she said as she walked out of my room, "I'm sure things will be better tomorrow."

She was wrong.

The next day proved to be just as bad. And I wound up in the same situation as that first day—running home as quickly as possible and bursting into tears. When my mom noticed that I was crying, a pained expression crossed her face, and she immediately dropped to her knees so that she could hug me.

"Mommy, I don't want to go to that school anymore," I said after a few moments of silence.

"Sweetheart, you don't think that moving to the other Kindergarten class will help?"

"No! He would still see me at lunch and recess. And he always teases me then, too. He always…" I trailed off, my sobs picking up again.

My mom stroked my hair for a little while before she spoke again. "Ok, then. But we can't take you out of school after just two days. It's too late. However, if you really want to, we can move you to another school when you start first grade in the fall. There are plenty of other places where you can go."

I pulled away to grab a tissue to dab my eyes. "Really?"

"Yes. In the meantime, though, we'll switch you to the other Kindergarten class. So…you'll still have to deal with this boy, but only during lunch and recess."

Personally, I didn't like the idea of having to put up with Edward at all, but at least I wouldn't have to put up with him for the whole day.

"I guess that sounds alright," I said.

"Good." My mom stood up and put her hands on my shoulders. "I'll talk to your dad about it tonight and get things straightened out in the morning. And I can promise you that in two days tops, you'll be out of that class."

I smiled and hugged my mom again. "Thank you, mommy. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome, dear," she replied, kissing my cheek. "Now, would you like to help me out with dinner? I was thinking of making your dad's favorite tonight—lasagna."

"Sure, I'd love to," I answered, nodding enthusiastically.

I took my mom's hand and walked to the kitchen with her, very pleased with the outcome of our conversation. It felt as though a giant weight had been lifted off of my shoulders and now, I could just live.

Starting in the fall, I wouldn't have to see Edward ever again.

_**Seattle, 1984**_

_Ok, where the hell was it?_

I had been driving around the Seattle campus of the University of Washington for what seemed like forever. It was move-in day, and I was trying to find my dorm building—2104 House. Now, I'm sure this would be no problem for a returning student. But I certainly wasn't one of those. On the other hand, I suppose you could say that I _was_ returning…just not to the university.

For my first two years of college, I had wanted to get out of Seattle. It had just gotten boring for me, and I wanted to try something new. NYU had been my first choice, and when they accepted me, I jumped at the chance. But things didn't exactly turn out the way I had hoped. My former boyfriend, James, had gotten me involved in a lot of shit while at school. When I met him, I had no idea that he was really into drugs and partying. So of course, you can imagine that since I hung around him all the time, I was high almost 24/7.

In addition to all that, James was also…uh, pretty freaky…if you know what I mean. He could never just have nice, normal sex; he always had to add some really dangerous aspect to it. And I was too far gone into whatever drug was in my body at the time to stop him. But it was when he tried to fuck me while I dangled halfway outside of a 5th story window that I decided enough was enough. I broke through my pot-induced haze and kicked him where it counted, managing to grab onto the window and pull myself back in after he let go of my hips. Luckily, he was too busy rolling on the ground in pain to notice me get dressed quickly and leave.

That night was the last time I ever saw James, and for whatever reason, he didn't try to seek me out. But it's not like I wanted him to or anything. He probably found someone else to fuck and get high with, and that was just fine with me.

But it was also on that night when I decided that I needed a fresh start. I needed to transfer someplace else if I wanted to put this shitty chapter in my life completely behind me. And what better way to do that then to return to where it all started: home. I realize that this was where I wanted to get out of in the first place, but for some reason, I had a feeling that coming back to Seattle would be exactly what I needed.

I had always heard that the U of W was a reputable place, so I decided that in the fall, that's where I would begin my new life. But I couldn't start living my new life until I found my stupid dorm building. Now, I know that since my parents lived in Seattle, I didn't actually need to stay in a dorm, but starting fresh was something I needed to do on my own.

Just then, however, I glanced down and gasped when I noticed that I had almost no gas left in my car. I needed to find my building quickly…before my car died on me.

Pulling off to the side of the road, I flagged down a tall, blond guy who was carrying a basketball in his right hand. "Excuse me," I asked, "Could you tell me where 2104 House is? I've been driving around campus for quite a while and I can't seem to find it."

To my surprise, he began to laugh. "That's because technically, it's not on-campus. Didn't they tell you where it was at orientation?"

I blushed, feeling incredibly stupid. "I wasn't able to make it to orientation. Is it far from here?"

"Actually, no. It's just across the street from the North Central part of the campus," he replied. "We're in the Northwest part, so just double back and head out onto NE 45th Street. You can't miss it."

"Thanks," I replied, relieved that I no longer felt lost. "I'm Bella, by the way."

He grinned and stuck out his hand. "I'm Mike. It's nice to meet you, Bella. So are you a transfer student?"

"Yeah, I am. Why? Do I look like a transfer student or something," I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, it's just that you look older than a freshman, so I figured that you probably, well, weren't one," he said, frowning slightly at his not-so-eloquent explanation.

I chuckled. "Good guess, then." Looking at the clock, I saw that it was nearing 5 PM. "Alright, well it was nice meeting you, Mike. But I should go find the building. I want to get myself settled before dinner."

He nodded and took a step backwards. "Sure, Bella. And hey, hopefully I'll see you around."

"Yep, thanks for your help," I replied, pulling away from the curb and waving at him.

Mike seemed like a nice enough guy—not really my type, but nice. I was never really into sporty guys, or guys with blond hair for that matter. Well, except for…

_NO!!! Don't even go there! You may have liked James at one point, but never again will you date a guy that's as big a douche as he was. James was in your past, and there he'll stay. So don't even let yourself think about him. _

_Fresh start, fresh start, fresh start…_

I felt confident as I pulled up to 2104 House…which was actually a house. The building was painted a dark yellow color, and had a big porch out back. It looked quite cozy.

As soon as I unloaded the car—which didn't take long because I didn't have many belongings—I grabbed my bags and went inside. Thankfully, the door was already open, so I didn't need to put everything down in order to open it.

According to the information I received, my room was going to be on the second floor—Room 3. And from the looks of things when I stopped outside the door, my roommate had already arrived.

Regardless of the fact that the door was shut, I could very plainly hear Madonna's 'Lucky Star' blaring from inside. Admittedly, even though Madonna was growing very popular, I didn't particularly care for her. She was a little too edgy looking for my liking. Plus, pop music wasn't really my thing. I was more of a rock kind of gal.

A Madonna fan and a rock fan. This was going to be interesting.

I sighed and kicked the door once, since the bags I was carrying made it impossible to do otherwise. "Hello," I called. After a few seconds, the door still hadn't opened, so I tried again. "Excuse me?"

_Oh for Christ's sake._

I was starting to really get frustrated now, and I became even more frustrated when after I put my bags down, I tried to turn the doorknob and found that it wouldn't budge.

_Why the hell would she lock the door? She had to have known that I would be arriving soon._

Pushing my bags aside, I decided to just sit outside the room and wait. I mean, she had to unlock the door eventually. But just then, I realized that waiting wouldn't be necessary. I had a room key, of course!

I dug through my duffle bag, holding up the key triumphantly when I finally found it. Then, after inserting the key into the lock, I opened the door.

_Holy shit. _

I guess now, I could understand the purpose of the extremely loud music.

Lying naked on her bed—complete with some blond guy's head between her legs—was the person I assumed was my roommate. She had her eyes closed and was thrashing her head from side to side on the pillow, moaning loudly.

_Ok, this is ridiculous._

I shook my head in disgust and turned to walk back into the hallway to wait it out. But just as I reached the door, an ear-piercing scream filled the room. Startled, I screamed as well, covering my ears. "What the fuck," I shouted.

When I turned around, I saw that my roommate was staring at me, her eyes filled with shock. Apparently, she had caught me trying to sneak out of the room.

At that same moment, the blond guy looked up and met my gaze, and his eyes widened. "Who the…" he began, but the music drowned him out. He sighed and covered himself with a sheet before getting up and walking over to turn off the stereo. "Now, who the hell are you," he asked, looking back at me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Bella Swan. I'm your roommate for this year, I think," I answered, looking at the girl on the bed.

Thankfully, she grabbed a pink robe and put it on. "Oh, hi. I'm Alice Cullen," she said, standing up. But when she noticed the annoyed expression on my face, she immediately looked bashful. "Um, I don't quite know what to say except for I'm sorry. We didn't know what time you'd be here, and we just, well…"

"Yeah, I get it," I replied. "Look, do you want me to just come back later so you can, um, carry on, I guess?"

"No, no! Of course not," she protested. "You need to get settled. Classes do start in the morning, after all." Alice turned to her boyfriend, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry, Jazz."

"No, it's cool. I understand." Then suddenly, he looked at me and chuckled. "You know, when I first saw you standing there watching, I thought you were some random perv."

I surprised myself by laughing along with him. "Actually, you saw me not ten seconds after I walked in. So I wasn't spying on you guys. Plus, would a random perv have a room key?"

"True. Very true," he agreed, holding out his hand. "I'm Jasper Whitlock, by the way. But most people just call me Jazz."

I smiled, and was just about to shake his hand when Alice suddenly stopped him. Stretching up on the tips of her toes, she whispered into his ear, though I could hear her very clearly. "Um, Jazz, you might not want to do that considering where that hand was before she walked in."

_Ugh. Talk about TMI._

Jasper's face reddened and he dropped his hand. "Sorry, Bella."

"Not a problem," I replied, laughing quietly.

"Well then," Alice began, slinging her arm around my shoulders, "I say we should get you unpacked, Bella. So Jazz, buh-bye," she said, gesturing towards the door.

"Hey," he cried, "You can't just kick me out, Alice!"

She and I laughed. "But this isn't your room, is it? Besides, Bella and I need to have some girl time. We've got to get to know each other."

Jasper sighed but nodded in agreement. "Ok. I'll talk to you later then," he said, leaning down to give Alice a quick kiss. "Love you, baby."

"Love you, too," she responded, smiling widely.

"And Bella, it was nice meeting you," he added, walking towards the door. After tightening his grip on the sheet that covered him, he turned back to Alice. "Do you think the coast is clear?"

"Only one way to find out," she said. "Besides, you're only two doors down. It's not like you have to run across campus like that."

He glanced down at his sheet-covered crotch and blushed again. Then, after cracking open the door and looking back and forth, Jasper flew out into the hallway towards his room.

As soon as Alice shut the door behind him, she began laughing again, and I couldn't help but join in with her. "Ah, Jazz," she said, "He's adorable when he's embarrassed."

"Yeah, that quick exit _was_ pretty entertaining," I agreed. "Though he wouldn't have had to have worried about that if you two had kept your hormones in check."

Alice placed her hands on her hips and threw me an exasperated glance. "Well, can you blame me? I mean, Jasper is just…" She trailed off, staring dreamily off into space.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. So, tell me—when did you and Jasper meet?"

She giggled excitedly and started to speak, but was cut off by someone knocking at the door.

"Damn, that boy just can't get enough of me," Alice said jokingly, walking over to see who it was. But when she opened the door, it definitely wasn't Jasper standing there.

The guy at the door was—in a word—beautiful. He was tall and well-built. And his face…his face was like that of a model. It was flawless. But what I noticed most was his hair. It was an unusual reddish-brown color—bronze, I'd say. And it was extremely untidy, but I didn't care. It only made him look sexier. The only thing that was odd was the fact that he was wearing a pair of Ray Bans…inside.

"Well hello there, brother dearest," Alice drawled lazily. "To what do I owe this visit?"

_Brother? This guy was Alice's brother?_

"Jazz sent me to come get his clothes," he explained, his voice just as flawless as his face. "He realized he forgot them after you subjected him to the walk of shame."

Alice snorted. "So you're his slave now, are you?"

"No. I believe _you _are," he replied with a smirk. And judging by the events of today, I could make a good guess as to what he was referring to.

At this, I began to laugh. But I couldn't help it. In addition to being incredibly good-looking, this guy was funny, too.

Upon hearing my laughter, both he and Alice turned to look at me. After taking in the expression on her face, she didn't seem to appreciate the fact that I found her brother's remark funny. But she definitely wasn't the one I was interested in, especially not after her brother took off his sunglasses to reveal his bright green eyes.

I couldn't stop staring at him, and for some reason, he couldn't stop staring at me…not that I wanted him to stop or anything. If I got to stare at this beautiful man for the rest of my life, I'd be the luckiest woman on earth. However, staring didn't appear to be enough for him because the next thing I knew, he was nudging Alice to the side and making his way over to me.

_Remember to breathe, Bella._

He grinned widely, revealing a set of perfectly straight, white teeth. "Hi. I'm Edward Cullen. I'm Alice's brother," he said, holding out his hand. I took it, and immediately felt as though a jolt of electricity ran through my arm. And judging from the look of wonder on Edward's face, I'm fairly certain that he felt it, too.

I smiled shyly and blushed. "Bella Swan. It's nice to meet you."

"You, too," he replied, his eyes sparkling with excitement. But as we continued to stare at each other—still holding hands—a memory hit me.

_His eyes—the most beautiful shade of green—snapped up to meet mine. But they weren't friendly at all. In fact, his eyes were narrowed into a menacing glare…_

I was suddenly brought back to reality by Alice's quiet gasp, and my mouth popped open in shock at the sight of Edward pressing a soft kiss to the back of my hand.

My God, this guy really knew how to turn on the charm. And let me tell you, it was working.

Edward's smile was smug as he took in the expression on my face. "Bella…"

"Hold it, Romeo," Alice interrupted, stepping in between Edward and me, "What the hell is going on with you?"

"What ever do you mean, Alice," he asked, never breaking eye contact with me. "I was merely introducing myself to this beautiful woman." I blushed again, causing him to chuckle softly.

"That," Alice said loudly, pointing at him. "That is exactly what I'm talking about. "You've never been this way with someone you just met."

Edward chuckled again. "Well, who's to say that I just met her?"

_What the hell?_

I whipped my head up and looked at him questioningly. He just stared right back, a calm look in his eyes. But there was something else behind that calmness, and I couldn't figure out what it was.

"I'm just saying," he continued, "I could have come into contact with Bella at some point down the line. Perhaps she just doesn't remember."

I was confused as hell, and the fact that Edward was being incredibly cryptic with me wasn't helping. But I decided to let it go. "Whatever," I said, conceding. "So I may have met you. Ok. I don't remember, so let's just move on…deal?"

Edward's smug smile returned. "Deal," he agreed.

"Good." I decided to move on to something else that definitely had me curious. "So…you two are brother and sister?"

"Twins, actually," Alice clarified.

This puzzled me even more. It was odd enough that they were related in the first place, seeing as how they looked nothing alike. Edward was very tall, with bronze hair and green eyes. But Alice had to be around 5 feet, complete with black hair and bright blue eyes.

"Twins," I asked in disbelief. "No offense, but that…"

"Doesn't seem possible," Edward finished, causing Alice to laugh. "Well, you're definitely not the first to be surprised. But it's true. We're twins…just not identical, obviously."

"Yeah, I mean, look at Edward," Alice said, gesturing to him. Though, it's not like she needed to tell me because I hadn't really stopped staring at him since I first saw him. "He's a giant. And I…"

"Got the…_short_…end of the stick," Edward joked, laughing loudly.

His laugh was absolutely infectious, and I found myself joining in with him, much to the dismay of Alice.

"Ha ha. Very funny," she said sarcastically. "But if I remember correctly, making fun of my height wasn't why you came over here, was it, Assward? Didn't you have something you needed to pick up?"

Edward dazzled me with one more perfect smile before turning to face his sister. "Way to kill the fun, Alice. But yes, I came to pick up Jasper's clothes."

"And why, pray tell, couldn't _he_ come and get them?"

"Because he didn't want to chance another trip down the hallway clad in only a sheet," he answered matter-of-factly.

Alice sighed loudly, grabbed Jasper's clothes from their spot on the floor, and threw them at Edward. "Well, here they are. Now…out!"

"Fine, I'm going. Are you happy," Edward asked, walking towards the door. Before he reached it, however, he turned back towards me. "Bella, it was a pleasure meeting you. I hope I'll get to see you again sometime this year," he said, taking my hand and kissing it once more.

I was rendered speechless, so I simply nodded and waved at him as he exited the room. But when I turned around, I was met with Alice's knowing gaze.

"You totally have a thing for him, don't you?"

I blushed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh come on, Bella. You practically melted into a puddle of goo when he smiled at you."

"Well…I…um," I fumbled. "I guess…"

"It's ok, though," Alice cut in. "It's totally obvious that Edward likes you, too. I mean, you remember when he kissed your hand, of course."

How could I forget? I was never washing that hand again.

"Well, like I said before, he's never done anything like that with anyone he just met. You had to have made quite the impression on him," Alice explained.

"You think so?"

"Hell yes," she said enthusiastically. "Now, what do you say we get you settled here, and then we can go grab something to eat?"

I nodded, and we began unpacking my belongings. But Edward's final words to me were still ringing through my head.

_I hope I'll get to see you again sometime this year._

Well, I certainly hoped so, too.

****

I was going to be late. I just knew it.

I had slept through my alarm this morning, and was now frantically making my way across campus so I could make it to my 10 AM sociology class. It was bullshit that I had to take sociology in the first place, considering that I was a comparative literature major. But unfortunately, sociology was a general education requirement—the last, in fact, that was required of me—so I had to take it.

But as it turned out, I made it to the classroom just as the professor was walking up to the door.

He nodded at me and walked inside. I followed him in and scanned the room, searching for an empty seat. At last, I saw one in the back corner.

I made my way along the side of the room towards my destination. As I neared the empty seat, however, I noticed a very familiar guy sitting in the spot next to it.

I would recognize that untidy bronze hair anywhere.

Taking a deep breath, I walked the final steps to my seat. "Hi," I said quietly, unable to stop the massive grin that was stretching across my face.

When Edward saw me, an equally large smile overtook his face, too. "Bella, what a pleasant surprise. You're in this class, too?"

"Yes," I answered, sitting down. "Not that I'm interested in sociology or anything. I just needed this class to fulfill a general education requirement."

"Me too, actually," he admitted. "Not a sociology lady, huh?"

"Nope. If we're talking about comparative literature on the other hand…" I trailed off.

"Ah…a book lady, then," Edward replied, smiling again. "Which authors are your favorites?"

"Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Emily Bronte…I could go on forever." I paused for a moment and looked up at Edward. As usual, his beautiful green eyes rendered me speechless. But just then, it happened again. Another memory.

_He was dressed very nicely, but his bronze hair was the complete opposite of his tidy outfit. I could tell that it had been combed to the side in an attempt to tame it, but his hair was…wild. It kept falling in front of his face. However, that didn't matter to me at all._

This was the second time in two days that something like this occurred. But just like the last time, I brushed it off. It probably meant nothing.

I turned my attention back to Edward. "So, what's _your_ major?"

"Biochemistry," he replied, twirling his pen easily between his fingers.

_God, his fingers…_

"Wow," I said, trying to distract myself from those amazing long fingers of his. "Sounds intense."

"It is, but I love it…unlike sociology," Edward said with a snort.

He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. However, when he looked back at me, his eyes were filled with excitement. And when he reached over and took my hand, I very nearly fainted.

"So, if you and I are kind of miserable about this sociology thing, how about we just…be miserable together?"

I smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me."

_Together._

I liked the sound of that.

_**Two Months Later**_

Ever since that first day in sociology class, Edward and I had become inseparable. True to his word, he stuck with me through all the mind-numbing lectures and tests. Not only that, we hung out almost every day outside of class…just not in the way I would have wanted. Don't get me wrong, I was grateful for every moment spent with him, but as of now, we were still just good friends. Edward hadn't asked me out or done anything that would suggest that he was going to.

However, that didn't mean that we didn't touch…or kiss for that matter. Granted, he never kissed me on the lips, just on my hand or my cheek when we were saying hello or goodbye to each other. Sometimes, we would also hold hands, too…just not in the couple kind of way. And whenever we hung out, I could always count on getting a hug from Edward at least once.

But even with this physical contact, I still wasn't satisfied. All those little touches were driving me crazy…so crazy that getting off in my shower became a nightly routine for me. After a while, however, even that was getting old.

Something needed to change. Quickly.

And tonight was the perfect night for that.

Edward and I were sitting on the floor in his dorm room working on our final project for sociology. It wasn't due until a couple weeks from now, but Thanksgiving was this week, so we wanted to knock out a bunch of work before we left for the short break.

Now, to someone else, this might seem innocent enough, but in my opinion, it was far from it. The final project for the class consisted of pairing off with someone else and doing a presentation on one of the chapters covered during the semester. And I'll give you one guess as to what chapter Edward and I were assigned.

Chapter 10: Sex and Sexuality.

Ugh. Was this some kind of sick cosmic joke? Did the gods think that it would be funny to have to discuss the sexual habits of society with the guy that I wanted to fuck senseless?

"Hey Bella," Edward said, interrupting my thoughts, "Could you hand me that chart next to you? I need to check something."

I nodded and gave it to him, blushing when he locked his eyes on mine and flashed me that beautiful smile of his. "No problem," I replied.

_Yes, actually, it is a problem! You're not fucking me on your dorm room floor. That most certainly qualifies as a problem._

And that's when I knew.

I had to take matters into my own hands.

After all, I knew what I wanted. Now, it was time to go for it.

I scooted closer to Edward, pressing my legs against his and lightly grasping his thigh. For a moment, I didn't think it worked, but when I saw him take a deep breath and shift the chart over his lap, I knew that victory was on the horizon.

"Edward, are you alright," I asked, a knowing smirk on my face. "I can take a look at it if it's too _hard_ for you."

He closed his eyes, and a deep blush stained his cheeks. "That's ok," he said, his voice almost a whisper. "I've got the chart under control."

_Ok, seriously? The chart?_

I shook my head and ran my hand up and down his arm. "I'm not talking about the chart, Edward."

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and I gasped. Normally a very bright green, his eyes were considerably darker, clouded over with desire.

Before I even really knew what was happening, Edward had grabbed my waist and pulled me onto his lap. I squealed at his sudden reaction, but regained my composure, and moved so I was straddling him.

We gazed at each other for what seemed like forever. But finally, he brought his hand up to cup my cheek, and slowly lowered his face until his lips just barely touched mine.

_Ugh, Edward. Why must you tease me?_

I was growing very impatient, and decided to just move in, myself. But the gentle yet firm hold he kept on my waist was preventing me from doing that. "Edward," I whined, "What…"

"Shhh," he said, brushing one of his thumbs over my lips to quiet me. However, after a few seconds, Edward moved so he could softly kiss my forehead, my cheeks, my eyelids—each of these kisses causing me to shiver in delight.

Just when I thought I couldn't take it anymore, Edward reached my lips again, and paused…again. But this time, he didn't make me wait long.

"Bella," he whispered reverently before moving in and pressing his lips firmly to mine.

His kiss seemed to set off something inside me. Not something bad—the opposite, really. In fact, it was as though his lips contained some kind of drug. I was instantly hooked, and I craved more.

I threaded my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer, wanting to feel every inch of him that I could. At that same moment, Edward let his tongue glide across my bottom lip, and I eagerly allowed him entrance.

As soon as his tongue was inside my mouth, Edward immediately sought out mine, boldly stroking and massaging it with his. The sensation made me whimper, and I surrendered willingly, giving in to his dominance.

The man held me absolutely powerless. And as unhealthy as it may sound, I kind of enjoyed being held powerless.

However, I was soon gasping for air and Edward, sensing this, moved his kisses to my neck. He showed no mercy as he nipped and sucked his way down to my shoulder, where he planted a light kiss before biting down gently.

"Holy shit," I cried in pleasure, letting my head fall against his shoulder.

Edward chuckled softly. "Bella, as much as I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, pick your head back up please. I want to see those beautiful eyes of yours."

I did as I was told, and he met my gaze, a look of adoration in his eyes. "Beautiful," he said again.

But as sweet as that moment was, I wanted to get back to business. Clutching his shirt collar in both of my hands, I pulled him closer, and he quickly resumed kissing me.

While we kissed, I could feel his hands toying with the bottom of my t-shirt. Knowing what he was interested in, I pulled away from him and lifted my arms up, allowing him to pull off the shirt.

He gazed at my blue lace bra for almost a full thirty seconds before I began to grow slightly self-conscious. "Edward…"

Once again, he silenced me by putting a finger to my lips. Only this time, I kissed it, making him smile. "Bella," he began, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear, "You are simply stunning."

I bit my lip and blushed, causing him to chuckle and lean in to kiss my red cheeks. Then, he moved his lips to my ear. "I want to see more of you," he whispered. "Is that alright?"

'_Is that alright?' Um…duh!_

I nodded enthusiastically, and before Edward could reach around to unclasp my bra, I did it myself and threw it across the room.

Edward smiled again as he stared at my exposed breasts. Thankfully, he seemed to regain his composure quicker than before. Not long after I took off my bra, he slowly brought his hands up and cupped my breasts.

I inhaled sharply as he brushed my nipples lightly with his thumbs. "Mmm Edward, more. Please, more."

"As you wish," he replied, picking up the pace and rubbing my nipples more vigorously.

While he continued his ministrations, I scooted forward so I could begin unbuttoning his shirt. But upon shifting positions, I found that my center was now located right above his very prominent erection.

Unable to resist, I ground myself into him, eliciting a groan from deep in his throat. "Bella, you're driving me crazy."

_Hmm, well I could say the same about you._

Taking this as encouragement, I continued grinding against him as I popped open the last button of his shirt. Slowly, I eased it down his arms then let it fall into a pile behind him. And let me tell you, while Edward _with _a shirt is certainly beautiful, Edward without one just might be even more beautiful. His stomach was nice and tight, the skin stretched over a clearly defined six pack. The muscles of his upper arms were also clearly defined, but not overly so. He was absolute perfection.

I ran my hand up and down Edward's abdomen, smiling when his breathing began to pick up. Suddenly, he grabbed my waist again and pulled me into his arms. I gasped at the feeling of my breasts pressed up against his chest, and closed the distance between our lips, kissing him fiercely as we continued rocking our hips together.

In practically no time, I felt that familiar pressure building in the pit of my stomach, and I knew that I wouldn't end up lasting much longer. "Edward…oh, Edward…" I panted.

"That's it, baby," he said, gently sucking on my earlobe. "Just let go."

That last bit of encouragement was all I needed, and I came apart in his arms, crying out his name and burying my face in his neck.

_Well shit, if I can climax with my pants on, imagine what's going to happen when they come off._

After my breathing returned to normal, I pulled back slightly to look at Edward, who was grinning like the Cheshire Cat—looking extremely proud of himself.

I laughed at his smug expression and pushed my hair out of my eyes. "Cocky much?"

He joined in with my laughter. "I'm just glad to see that I was able to please you."

"Uh-huh. So I see," I quipped.

But suddenly, Edward's face grew soft, and he leaned down to kiss me softly. "Oh Bella," he sighed, touching his forehead to mine, "You are just so incredibly beautiful. You know that?"

How could he think that? I probably looked like hell right now—all sweaty and flushed.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah right."

Edward shook his head, exasperated, and took my face in his hands. "It's true. You are beautiful. And you've always been beautiful, even after all these years…"

_What?_

I looked questioningly at Edward, whose current expression reminded me of a child who had just been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

"Edward, what do you mean 'after all these years'?"

He exhaled shakily and ran a hand through his hair. "Bella, do you remember me?"

"Remember you? What…"

That's when it happened.

It hit me.

A little boy with messy bronze hair.

A little boy glaring at me with bright green eyes.

A little boy who broke my glasses.

It was Edward—_the _Edward who ruined my first days in Seattle as a child.

He knew who I was all along…and he never told me.

I turned back to him, shaking my head in disbelief and disgust. At that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than to get the fuck out of there.

"Bella…"

"No," I cried, jumping off of his lap and walking over to pick up my shirt and bra. I tried to fasten the clasp of my bra, but for whatever reason, it wasn't working. I threw it to the side in frustration and jammed my t-shirt on over my head.

"Bella, please. Let me explain," Edward begged, standing up as well.

"What is there to explain? You lied to me!"

He looked down at his feet sheepishly. "I didn't lie. I just…withheld information," he mumbled.

My mouth popped open in anger. "That is probably the saddest excuse I've ever heard. Edward, you acted like you didn't even know me."

"Well, I was afraid that you wouldn't have spoken to me if you knew who I really was."

"You're damn right I wouldn't have! Edward, I had to switch classes—hell, schools—because of you. You made my life a living hell!"

"Well, so did you," he snapped back.

"Excuse me," I asked, shocked. "How did I do that?"

"You left!"

The silence that followed that last remark was deafening. We stared at each other for an immeasurable amount of time before Edward finally spoke.

"Bella, did you ever hear about how if a boy makes fun of you, that means he actually likes you?"

I sighed. "Yes. So?"

"So…I was the exact same way."

He tentatively walked over to me and took my hand, leading me over to sit on the bed. "Bella, the moment you walked into that classroom in Kindergarten, I was absolutely infatuated with you. You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen in my 5 short years of life. But I was too scared and too immature to tell you how I really felt. Hell, aren't all kids at that age?"

"I guess," I mumbled.

"So I thought that the only way I could talk to you and not sound like an idiot was to be…well…an idiot. But as I found out, that was one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made."

Edward took a deep breath and continued. "Bella, after you left, I was absolutely miserable. I was miserable that you were gone, and miserable because I never thought I'd get to tell you how sorry I was for acting so stupid. So when I saw that you had come back to Seattle this year for college, I was so excited. I thought that this could be my chance to make things right."

"But Edward, that still doesn't excuse the fact that you didn't tell me who you really were," I cut in.

He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, obviously frustrated with himself. "I know. And I truly regret doing that. But like I said before, I was afraid that if I told you that we actually _had_ met before, that you wouldn't talk to me. I just wanted…I don't know. I guess I just wanted a clean slate with you—a fresh start."

A fresh start. Now that I could understand.

I nodded my head. "I definitely know what you mean, Edward."

He sighed and to my surprise, stood up and began pacing back and forth, looking incredibly pensive. "Look Bella, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"What is it," I asked, confused.

Edward walked slowly back over to me, pulling me gently to my feet. "Bella, I love you. I think I've always loved you. And in these past couple months, I realized that I was right. You are by far the prettiest, smartest, funniest, and sweetest woman I've ever known." He paused, took my hand, and held it to his heart. "You see, you might have left that school all those years ago, but you never truly left _me._"

At this point, tears were streaming down my face, and I let out a loud sniffle. Staring at Edward certainly wasn't helping matters, so I turn away from him to try and get my emotions in check. Unfortunately, he must have misinterpreted my actions.

"Bella," he said, panicked, "Please say something. Do you forgive me?"

I decided to do the only thing I could think of at the moment.

I attacked him.

I jumped forcefully into his arms—the momentum knocking him backwards onto the bed—and kissed him passionately. "Edward, I love you, too," I whispered between kisses. "I love you so much."

Edward's answering smile was simply radiant. "Oh, Bella…oh, thank God," he murmured, half to himself, half to me. "You're so important to me. You…"

I giggled and placed my hand over his mouth, silencing him. "Edward, there'll be plenty of time for talking later, but right now…" I trailed off suggestively, running my hand up and down his chest.

He caught up to my mood instantly, flipping me over and moving my shirt collar aside to suck on a spot above my collarbone. Unfortunately, since I was wearing a t-shirt, the collar kept moving back into place.

Edward let out a frustrated growl, gripped the collar with both hands, and ripped my shirt down the middle.

I gasped. "Edward, I actually liked that shirt. I got it at a Queen concert. Now…"

"Well then," he interrupted, wearing a cheeky grin and stroking the sides of my now exposed breasts, "I guess I'll just have to take you to one of their shows when they come to town. While we're there, I'll buy you a new shirt."

"Really?"

"Yes. Now, where were we," Edward asked, leaning down and resuming sucking on my collarbone.

He didn't need to ask me twice.

In a matter of minutes, our pants were off, and Edward was now returning to his position above me, condom in hand.

I took the foil package and threw it across the room, chuckling at his stunned expression. "Edward, there's no need. I'm on the pill."

"Are you sure, love?"

I bit my lip and nodded. "Yes. I want you. I want _all_ of you."

Edward inhaled deeply and positioned himself at my entrance, rubbing his tip up and down against my wet slit before pushing all the way in.

I moaned as I felt him fill me up. "Oh my God…feels…so…good."

He leaned down and kissed me for a moment before moving his lips to my ear. "Well, if you think that feels good, just you wait and see what's next."

Before I could question what he meant, Edward pulled himself almost all the way out of me, then slammed forcefully back in, causing me to throw my head back in pleasure. But with each new, deep thrust, I found myself getting closer and closer to the headboard. Eventually, I decided to just hang on to it. Even though my arms began to ache after a few minutes, that didn't matter to me. The pleasure that Edward was giving me definitely had the upper hand.

Edward was like an animal. He was relentless in his thrusts, each just as forceful as the ones before them. And the look of pleasure on his face would be enough to make me wet just on its own.

I wasn't going to last much longer; I just knew it. And when Edward lifted up my legs and placed one over each of his shoulders, that was it. He filled me even deeper that way, and I screamed as I experienced my release. Edward experienced his shortly after, letting out a strangled yell before gently lowering himself down onto me.

After I removed my legs from his shoulders, I hugged him to me tightly, never wanting to let go. I felt so safe with Edward. He was everything I had ever hoped for.

The look in his eyes told me that he felt the same way.

"I love you," he said, brushing his lips along my jaw before adding, "Four eyes."

I laughed loudly and smacked his chest, causing him to laugh, too. "I can't believe you remember that," I said. "But you realize that you can't technically call me that, considering I wear contacts, now."

Edward smirked. "I know. But it's so much fun!"

I laughed again, and we lapsed into a comfortable silence before I decided to let him know just how much _I_ cared for _him_.

"I love you, too…doodoo head."

* * *

**Well, I hope you all liked it! Please vote for me if you did. Oh by the way, later this month, I'll be putting out the first chapter of my next full-length story. It'll be awesome…so if you haven't already, please put me on alert so you know when it's published. In the meantime, please review :-) **


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